Qualcomm says Apple has $ 7 billion in royalties behind it

FILE PHOTO: An Apple logo is seen in a shop in Los Angeles, California, USA, March 24, 2017. REUTERS / Lucy Nicholson

(Reuters) – Qualcomm Inc. (QCOM.O) said in a court hearing on Friday that Apple Inc. (AAPL.O) is $ 7 billion behind patent fee payments to the cell phone chip company, which has been supplying parts for the iPhone for years.

Apple and Qualcomm are involved in a series of legal actions. Apple has accused Qualcomm of having introduced unfair patent licensing procedures. Qualcomm, the world's largest cell phone chip supplier, has in turn accused Apple of patent infringement.

Qualcomm said in a hearing in a federal court in San Diego on the amount of unpaid royalties from Apple. Apple has denied the amount of royalties that Qualcomm owes.

Apple has argued that Qualcomm is forcing it to pay twice for the same patents once Apple uses Qualcomm's chip in iPhones and then again through patent fees. Qualcomm has argued that his practices are legal and that Apple is trying to destroy Qualcomm's business model after years of approval.

Reporting by Arjun Panchadar in Bengaluru and Stephen Nellis in San Francisco